Gainesville Police Investigate Claims of Officer Bribery

A Gainesville police officer with a lengthy disciplinary file is now being investigated by his supervisors because of an accusation that he bribed a suspect during an arrest.

The investigation into the behavior officer Mose Rochelle stems from an interview that WCJB's staff conducted Thursday night that we have since shared with police.

It all started last week when Gainesville Police Officer John Bostick resigned after learning he is the subject of an internal investigation.

When we looked into his internal affairs report, we noticed that he often worked alongside Officer Rochelle, and that's how the investigation started.

Bostick and Rochelle were both members of the Tactical Impact Unit, which is a special force at GPD that aims to cut down on the number of violent crimes in the community.

Bostick resigned last Friday, and then Rochelle was reassigned from the tactical unit to patrol this past Monday.

The story took a turn Thursday night when WCJB Reporter Shani Muhammed interviewed several citizens in a community that Bostick and Rochelle often patrolled.

That's when 18-year-old Renard Mosley made the following comment.

"My friend told him no, and he took him to jail. He told him he'd let him go because my friend got caught with some drugs, and he told him I will drop those charges and let you go a free man if you can plant this on old boy when I pull you over next time."

We played Mosley's comments for some Gainesville police officers this morning, who took the information back to the department's administration.

GPD Spokesperson Officer Summer Hallett says they are now looking into Mosley's claims.

"Based on the video I reviewed this morning, an individual made an allegation of misconduct on one of our officers which we deemed it necessary to investigate. We are taking a proactive stance regarding this allegation, as we do with any complaint, ok? It's not an internal investigation, it is merely a follow-up investigation as to this citizen's allegations," said Hallett.

In all fairness, we must tell you that Renard Mosley does have a criminal history, including drug and trespassing charges.

We also want to inform you that Officer Rochelle has a lengthy disciplinary history, including being suspended for improper conduct.

We spoke with the Fraternal Order of Police Union President Jeff Mcadams who says he finds it suspicious that Mosley and others are just now coming forward with the accusations, and that it's odd they told TV 20 instead of filing a complaint at the police department.

GPD administrators say even though Mosley has a criminal record, they treat all complaints the same and are looking into the allegations.